Man charged in fatal hit-and-run

Defendant is 4-time drunken driver; couple struck on roadside

Daniel J. Fagan was charged Wednesday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court was charged Wednesday with two counts of negligent operation of a vehicle and two counts of hit and run resulting in death in connection with the roadside killing of a Brown Deer couple. Credit: Tom Lynn

Mequon — A 35-year-old Brown Deer man was charged Wednesday with two counts of negligent operation of a vehicle and two counts of hit-and-run resulting in death in connection with the roadside killing of a Brown Deer couple.

All four charges are felonies.

Daniel J. Fagan had his attorney contact Mequon police on Tuesday saying he was involved in the accident late Sunday that killed Emiliya Krol, 69, and her husband, Leonid Krol, 72. The Brown Deer couple were struck and killed as they walked in the 4700 block of W. County Line Road. Fagan's 2001 Chevrolet Blazer was westbound on the road at the time of the crash, police said.

Fagan fled from the scene and did not report the crash, police said.

Fagan has been convicted of drunken driving on four separate occasions, state criminal records show.

His most recent conviction for drunken driving came in June 2004 in Ozaukee County, according to the records. At that time, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Paul V. Malloy sentenced him to 10 months in jail with work-release privileges, and required that an ignition interlock device be placed in his vehicle for five years.

The criminal complaint released Wednesday naming Fagan makes no mention of whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident.

According to the complaint:

During an interview, Fagan told police he had been driving the vehicle that struck the Krols. He stated he was westbound on County Line Road in Mequon when his vehicle "apparently had drifted off the roadway onto the right shoulder where he struck a man and woman."

He said that after striking them he stopped, got down from his vehicle and "checked on the adults finding no signs of life."

Fagan then stated that he panicked and drove home. He said he did not make any attempt to contact police or anyone else regarding the crash and waited until the following morning before he told his father.

The complaint outlines how police worked with Wisconsin State Patrol reconstruction investigators who collected debris left at the scene at or near the northeast corner of N. Mequon Place and County Line Road.

From that debris it was determined that the vehicle was a black 2001 Chevrolet Blazer. Mequon police then searched an in-house database for anyone known to operate a 2001 black Chevy Blazer.

Fagan, who lived in the immediate vicinity of the crash, had been known to operate a Blazer and had multiple previous convictions of operating while intoxicated.

Police arranged for a surveillance of Fagan's residence, and a detective could see from the roadway what appeared to be a black Chevy Blazer parked near the house, but was unable to confirm the make and model or year of the license plate.

The Wisconsin State Patrol also began to canvas area taverns and convenience stores to determine if they knew of any intoxicated individuals, or anyone who might have had contact with the black SUV.

At the Kwik Stop Shop, a business in the immediate area, troopers learned that shortly after 8 p.m. a store clerk had waited on a person operating a black SUV.